Looking at the life and legacy of Emperor Yang (569–618) of the brief Sui dynasty in a new light, this book presents a compelling case for his importance to Chinese history. Author Victor Cunrui Xiong utilizes traditional scholarship and secondary literature from China, Japan, and the West to go beyond the common perception of Emperor Yang as merely a profligate tyrant. Xiong accepts neither the traditional verdict against Emperor Yang nor the apologist effort to revise it, and instead offers a reassessment of Emperor Yang by exploring the larger political, economic, military, religious, and diplomatic contexts of Sui society. This reconstruction of the life of Emperor Yang reveals an astute visionary with literary, administrative, and reformist accomplishments. While a series of strategic blunders resulting from the darker side of his personality led to the collapse of the socioeconomic order and to his own death, the Sui legacy that Emperor Yang left behind lived on to provide the foundation for the rise of the Tang dynasty, the pinnacle of medieval Chinese civilization. "This is a detailed study of a vital, yet (in English) virtually unknown, period of medieval Chinese history. Traditional Chinese historians usually castigate Emperor Yang, and the author has successfully cut through this invective to reveal much about the man, his policies, and his achievements. The result is a work that will change the way both Chinese and Western historians regard the Sui dynasty and its importance to overall Chinese history." — Charles Hartman, author of Han Yü and the T’ang Search for Unity "This book marks a new phase in the study of this pivotal period in Chinese history, and what Xiong says here must be addressed by anyone who studies the Sui dynasty." — Albert E. Dien, editor of State and Society in Early Medieval China

《蒙曼说隋:隋炀帝杨广(上)》内容简介：在大多数人眼中，隋炀帝杨广是一个荒淫的富二代，是个昏庸的亡国之君：他弑兄奸母，残害忠良；他巡游无度，靡费奢侈；一生乱用民力，征发数千万人次，民不聊生。 然后，大多数人不知道他还有另一张面孔——雄才大略的实干家。 隋炀帝杨广到底隐藏了什么？为什么说他与明君李世民只有一线之隔？ 他平定陈朝，统一天下；他修建东都，迁都洛阳；他修建大运河，功在当代，利在千秋；他开疆扩土，通丝绸之路，迫使突厥分裂；他开创科举，重视教育；他三征高句丽，迫使高句丽降服。他的诗文更是一绝，被历代名家所称颂。另外，他是历史上唯一一个穿越海拔近四千米的祁连山大拔斗谷，爬雪山，过草地，西巡张掖的皇帝。 那么，隋炀帝到底是怎样的人？ 《百家讲坛》人气主讲人蒙曼颠覆性解读中国历史上毁誉争议最大的皇帝，揭秘一个完全不一样的杨广？一个短暂，却灼灼其华的王朝！

《隋亡唐兴七十年》是一部关公战秦琼式的作品。作者在隋亡唐兴的大背景中，将隋文帝、隋炀帝与唐高祖、唐太宗这两对父子，尤其是唐太宗与隋炀帝这对历史上好坏皇帝的典型，做一番对比阅读，别开生面。关心历史其实就是关心我们自己。《隋亡唐兴七十年》既有对历史事实的拨乱反正和对人物心理的深刻剖析，又有对历史独具一格的反思，在探求历史真相的同时，启迪我们对现实生活的思考。

隋炀帝杨广在世人印象中是个“艳主”、“昏君”。本书在广阔的时空背景上浓墨重彩地塑了杨广丰满立体的形象。全书激荡着气吞八荒的雄风，也洋溢着锦帐银烛的香艳和弥漫宫帷的血腥。从杨广统兵伐陈的煌煌武功，写到他一步步策划宫廷政变、夺嫡篡位、登基称帝直至被戮身亡，全方位地刻划了这个集辉煌与腐朽于一身的复杂的历史人物。这里有金戈铁马的沙场征战、纵横捭阖的时政策议、宫廷惊变的奇诡风云、舍生忘死的耿耿忠忱，以及权谋机变、官场炎凉、亲情冷暖；既写了他弑父杀兄奸父妃的无道，也写了他平定南陈、开通大运河的史功。全书气势恢弘、场面壮阔，人物形象生动饱满，情节紧张环环相扣，笔势多姿，悬念迭出，是一部具有史诗规模的力作。

《隋炀帝的真相》从隋炀帝的历史活动的社会意义出发，考订史实，——批驳对他的恶意毁谤与中伤，客观地考察与评价了隋炀帝的生平、功绩与过失，以期揭开这位“伟夫的暴君”的真实面貌。自隋朝灭亡以来，未代君主隋炀帝便被盖棺论定，公认是中国历史上最荒淫无度的昏君之一。千余年来，铁案如山。

《中国历代帝王传记丛书》：人民出版社约请国内有关专家对中国历史上有较大影响的皇帝及其时代背景进行了深入的研究，具有较高的学术价值，同时也兼顾可读性，是目前较好的帝王传记丛书。丛书包括《唐太宗传》、《唐玄宗传》、《朱元璋传》、《明成祖传》、《万历传》、《乾隆传》、《崇祯传》、《光绪传》、《隋文帝传》 。